Culturally, I’ve been taught that cemetery is one place you don’t go to unless (1) it’s part of funeral/burial ritual, (2) it’s a designated prayer day, and (3) it’s dictated as part of specific ceremony. My grandma would be horrified to know that I’m visiting one as if it’s a place of attraction. However, in Paris, that’s what some of them are considered. You could even get a map that marks out the graves of the “stars” of the cemetery.

Perhaps there’s an energy of morbidity around. With Hungry Ghost Festival taking place soon, and having just visited an exhibition on Voodooism at Fondation Cartier, it seems natural to take a walk at Cimetière du Montparnasse nearby. Truly, it’s a very well-kept compound, with a sense of calm and zen. It is also fascinating, given it’s a multi-denominational cemetery, with interesting and varied monuments setting one grave aside from another. Just look at the one above. It could have easily passed for an art display anywhere, if you discount the other graves that you could see in the background.

A few days ago, en route to work, I spotted firemen at Cité U. Normally, they can be seen during sunny weekend morning playing baseball at the pitch, but on a weekday morning, that could only mean trouble. Sure enough, I looked up at the building next to where they were and big gaping holes with black charred beams were staring back at me. Ooops.

The fire broke out on the night before (and nope, I didn’t hear any siren even though my building is not too far from it) and has ravaged through the roof of that particular wing. A video that I found online showed it to be a pretty huge fire although well-contained that it didn’t spread further. For now, the residents of the building have been temporarily housed elsewhere in Cité U.

There is a pair of black swans at Parc Montsouris with bright red bills. This is rather unusual, as the swans normally spotted around this part of the world are white. A quick wiki check told me that black swans are more commonly found in Australia and New Zealand. I can only assume then this pair is part of introduced population? It is a veeeery long way to migrate from Oz to France otherwise.

While I was there, park visitors were amusingly throwing grass in to feed the swans. A woman even remarked “Do you think they eat grass? I hope they won’t get stomach ache.” Well, seeing the swans are herbivores, I’d say they’ll be alright. Sure, the grass is not the same as vegetations found in the lake but it’s not too far off either. Eat, swans, eat.

I climbed a gate this morning to get out from the compound of my building.

My friend and I were heading out to go to the market when we were stopped at the main door. There was a filming across the road, and we would have to wait till an all-clear was given by the director. They were filming some Chinese tv series (I didn’t quite catch the name). 10 minutes later, we were still waiting and our receptionist then offered to let us out via the garden. Sure, why not?

Except there was a locked gate to the garden, that was what. And this time she didn’t have a key for that. Climbing over then. Of course, as we walked past the set, we noted they were changing scenes and we could have actually came out of our building the proper way. Never mind.

I now wonder what series is it exactly.

From the exterior, this glass building could pass for an old, disused metro station from the era of Art Nouveau. It’s pretty yet subtle, with names inscribed on the wall referring to rivers near Paris. This hints on the purpose of the site itself, formerly a stone mine but today a water reservoir that would serve the left bank and areas south of Paris.

Water channelled in from the aquaducts of Loing, Lunain, Vanne and Voulzie are stored away from plain sight, under grass-covered hills of which the glass building sits atop. The interior resembles a massive cathedrale which has been inundated with clear water (Google and you will see), and how I would love to see that for myself. However, as you can imagine, for health and safety reasons, a tour into the reservoir would just not be possible. What a pity.

While I was gallavanting around in Stockholm over the weekend, Chloé was on chocolate discovery mission. A new chocolate-tasting concept chocolatier has been found at St Germain, “between Pierre Hermé and Ladurée” (on rue Bonaparte), and wonderful friend that she is, she brought Anne and I a selection to try. Parc Montsouris seems like a good place to enjoy the last of the sunshine for the day and have chocolate tasting.

Chocolats Richart has plenty to offer but what we’ve got here are from two dégustation boxes – petits Richart Les Fruités (as the name suggests, fruity ganache filling within) and Les Hespéridés (for that fresh citrusy and extra zing of a flavour). All three of us prefer Les Hespéridés, even if we think there was a questionable (overripe) pineapple ganache in the selection. For next tasting session, I think we should get the other tasting selection, including Les Floraux (floral are usually good), Les Balsamiques (yup, balsamic!), Les Herbacés (herbs and chocolate – interesting), Les Epicés (not sure though if I’m keen on a spiced-chocolate selection) and Les Grillés (with nuts, this I can do).

Maybe I should just get a selection of all the selection. It’ll make my life easier and I get to taste ALL of them :D

I have a lot of kiwis to eat. Last week, at the market, I bagged a small basket of about a dozen kiwis which come at le petit prix of €2. Awesome! Sure they don’t all look pretty and perfectly oval, but does it really matter how they look?

Among the many, I’ve found this, which sliced to a natural heart shape. Isn’t it cute? I have another which sliced to resemble mitochondria, the power house in every single cell of our body. I debated which to post, but thought I’d skip the geeky kiwi (I can’t help it if I notice the shape – I am a biologist) and go with the heart-warming option. ;)

I pass by this bronze sculpture of a bird several times a week. In fact, each time I go for a run. Considering I would also complete numerous rounds of the loop of the park in Cité U, I’d see it for a few times within the hour that I huff and I puff my route in synchrony to whatever high-beat music I have loaded to my iPod.

Entitled Pájaro XIII (to signify the 13th such bronze statue by the same sculptor?) by Juan Soriano, it is part of collection from Centro de Arte de Reina Sofía. Unsurprising, given that it sits in the garden to the Spanish House. The thing is though, this sculpture is superfamiliar to me, even before I found out from where it came from. Now I wonder if I have saw something similar when I was in Madrid a few years back?

I haven’t been enjoying picnic this much in my life until the last couple of months. I’ve lost count of the number of times when I packed a bag of food and drinks, plus a good book, and off I went to the park for a few hours in the sun with my friends. We certainly weren’t the only one with such idea, since the park was always packed, and today was no exception. We even got our own front row to a “spectacle”.

We called them ninjas. Let’s face it – they dressed the part. We have no idea what form of martial art are they practicing exactly but often time, we questioned their wisdom in choosing the park as the venue of practice. During the demo by the master, everyone would form a circle and observed. The ninjas then were paired, equipped with rope(s), and proceeded to tie each other up (in slow motion) in the craziest conformation possible, including strangling position. There were lots of kids around observing. I shudder at the thought of them playing at home, saw some ropes, and decided “I can be a ninja too and let’s do what they were doing at the park”…

Let’s explore a bit more of Cité U.

I’ve been walking around a bit more around the campus and each time, I find something that I think should be shared. Today, it’s this medieval looking door that, for some reason, reminded me of the story of Snow White and Rose Red. It has got to be the roses. Some of the pink ones light enough to appear white, and the luscious bold red to the other side.

The Deutsch de la Meurthe Foundation was the first building of the campus, and has since expanded to encompass a total of seven adjacent buildings. Inspired by English colleges such as Oxford and Cambridge, there are beautiful gardens landscaped around the Foundation, along with paved terraces which gives the Foundation a sense of connection between its buildings.